Mississippi SC Rules Misrepresentation Not Grounds for Insurer to Rescind Policy
- The Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled that an insurer cannot rescind a workers’ compensation policy, despite material misrepresentation by the insured.
- The June 27 ruling in American Compensation Insurance Co. (ACIC) vs. Hector Ruiz, Jesco et al. found that the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Act does not provide for rescinding or voiding policies as it does cancellations and nonrenewals, even in the case of misrepresentation.
- An employee of Ruiz and his Los Primoz Construction firm — which was a subcontractor to Jesco Inc. — was injured in a fall and ACIC began paying benefits.
- When the benefits began to spiral, ACIC discovered that Ruiz hadn’t properly disclosed in his policy application that employees would be working so high off the ground.
- ACIC representatives said the company would not have issued the policy had they known and moved to rescind the policy.
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Orlando Contractor Faces 20 Years in Prison After Pleading Guilty to WC Wire Fraud
- Wendy Cudemo-Gamez has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a scheme where she misrepresented her Orlando, Floria construction company’s payroll and number of employees to obtain lower workers’ compensation insurance premiums.
- According to court documents, Cudemo-Gamez’s company received over $7.8 million in checks from contractors for workers who were not her employees, well above the payroll she reported to her insurance provider.
- Cudemo-Gamez faces up to 20 years in federal prison in the case that was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the State of Florida Department of Financial Services.
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Wyoming Schedules Risk Management Analysis Conference
- Wyoming’s Department of Workforce Services will hold a Risk Management Analysis Conference on Aug. 6, in Caspar.
- The event is free of change for employers with an active Wyoming Workers’ Compensation policy.
- The agency’s Risk Management team will present an overview of its work and provide analysis of injury trends specific to attendees businesses, as well as share claims management techniques and details on special WC discount programs.
- Registration closes on Aug. 2, and is available through the DWS website, at dws.wyo.gov.
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